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Olympic Games: from Greece, through Germany, to Brazil.

Links, Facts and curiosities

Olympic games berlin 2016The 31st Olympic Games are all around the news and until the 21st of august our eyes will be facing Rio de Janeiro. From the very-far-first games, held in the remote year of 776 BC in Olympia, passing through the dark competition during Nazi Times in Berlin in 1936, to the still on going, messy and colorful games in Rio, the Amstel House has prepared a list of links, facts and curiosities between these three places involving the tradition of sports celebration. Olympic Games: from Greece, through Germany, to Brazil.

First things first

While Athens was the debut stage for the Modern Games and Rio stands as the first South American host city since then, the Berlin Games in 1936 were the first ones to be televised. Olympia, a film by Leni Riefenstahl, pioneered many of the techniques now common in the filming of sports.

Arenas

The stadium in Olympia was a holy place for the ancient Greeks, where sporting activities dedicated to Zeus were held. The Olympia Stadium in Berlin is the largest stadium in Germany for international football matches and one of world’s main sports venues. Maracana, the current Olympics temple, was field for two World Cup Finals: the first in 1950 was marked by the defeat of Brazil against its biggest rival, Argentina. The second, in 2014 was stage for the defeat of the same Argentina against Germany.

Who is invited to the party?

In the games in Olympia in ancient times only freeborn Greek men were allowed to play. Berlin received guests from 49 countries. Hitler tried to block the participation of Jews and Blacks into the games, but after boycott threats from other countries he changed his mind. Rio is currently hosting 207 nations. This year’s games also include for the first time a team of refugees, athletes who have been forced to flee their countries and who compete under the Olympic flag.

Order of arrival

Keeping the tradition, Greece, birth of the Olympic Games, was the first to enter the opening celebration. Also as usual, Brazil, as the hosting team, came at last. Other countries enter by alphabetical order based on the local language. Germany (Alemanha in Portuguese) was the fourth team to join the party.

Catch a fire!

The torch way from Olympia to Brazil was tumultuous. Falls, protests and jokes marked the path of the fire to the tropical city. Although Amsterdam has been the pioneer to open the games with the flame, it was in the Berlin Olympics in 1936 that the torch route from Greece to the hostess city was first made.

What’s for lunch?

“Empty bag does not stand upright”, as a Brazilian saying goes to encourage kids to eat. And what is there to feed the athletes? The Ancient Greek cosine was good and simple: wheat, wine and olive oil. The Nazi German in 1936 followed the war policy of “guns before butter”. Food Propaganda introduced the Eintopf (one-pot dish), which was ‘the meal of sacrifice for the nation’. Blaaaarrgh!! Currently in Brazil 60 thousand meals are prepared per day for participants. There the tradition dish is rice, beans and barbecued meat. It is hard to imagine any movement after that.

Everything is politics 

… said German writer Thomas Mann. It wouldn’t be different with the Olympics. In Ancient Greece, apart from the religious porpoise, the games were used by the city-state as a political tool to asseverate dominance over their rivals and as a place for politicians to announce alliances. The Nazis used the Olympic Games in 1936 for propaganda purposes to promote their hideous ideal of racial supremacy. In Brazil a non-elected government uses the sport celebration to camouflage a state of corruption, environment pollution and economic instability.

Putschists in power

 Little is known about Aeschylus, King of Athens from 778-755 BC when the Olympic Games where born. In the other hand Hitler, the chancellor of Germany during the Berlin Games is one of history’s most famous villains. He watched the opening ceremony – described by some as a scary cult to his personality – from his own box on top of the others. In Brazil, the current present Michel Temer, who came to power this year after a coup d’etat, was heavily booed during the opening ceremony and, despite the censorship attempts, continues to suffer strong protests in and around the games.

Image: © visitBerlin, Foto: Wolfgang Scholvien